Opening in 4,096 theatres (for a per theatre average of $17,090) Fox’s Museum (known internationally as Night at the Museum 2) grossed an estimated $53.5m between Friday and Sunday, easily beating the $30.4m three-day opening achieved in December 2006 by the original Night at the Museum.

But the family adventure comedy – which reunites original star Ben Stiller with director Shawn Levy and expands the supporting cast to include Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais and Robin Williams – may still find it hard to match its predecessor’s final domestic tally of $258.9m, to which international markets added another $323.6m. The original played well over the entire Christmas period while the big budget PG sequel will face stiff summer competition in the coming weeks.

Terminator Salvation, distributed domestically by Warner, open on Thursday and played in 3,530 theatres (for a per-theatre average of $15,249). Its total estimated gross at the end of the holiday weekend stood at $67.2m for five days. On Friday and Saturday, the fourth instalment of the sci-fi action Terminator franchise took an estimated $43m.

The opening was smaller than that for previous franchise instalment Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which opened over the July 4 holiday weekend in 2003 and took $44m over the Friday to Sunday period and $72.4m over the five days from Wednesday to Sunday. Terminator 3 went on to take $150.4m domestically and $283m internationally.

Produced by the Halcyon Company, the pricey effects-laden sequel has Christian Bale and Sam Worthington starring and McG directing. Although it is missing original franchise star Arnold Schwarzenegger, its PG-13 rating (all three previous Terminator films were R-rated) should have brought it a relatively broad audience.

The weekend’s other new wide release, Paramount’s MTV-produced Dance Flick, opened in fifth place with an estimated $13.1m over four days from 2,450 theatres (average - $5,347).

The dance movie spoof – written by Scary Movie director Keenan Ivory Wayans and four other members of the Wayans clan, directed by Damien Wayans, and starring Damon Wayans Jr and Shoshana Bush – performed in line with expectations but continued the downward box office trend for its genre.

Among holdover releases, Paramount’s Star Trek grossed an estimated $29.4m over four days from 4,053 theatres (average - $$7,254), for a domestic total so far of $191m. Its Friday to Saturday estimated gross of $22m was down 49% from last weekend.

Sony’s Angels & Demons, which opened top last weekend, took an estimated $27.7m over four days from 3,527 theatres (average - $7,854), for a total of $87.8m. Its Friday to Sunday tally of $21.4m represented a drop of 54% from last weekend.

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Night At The Museum continues to dominate the international box office raking in $14.8m at the weekend across 4,391 screens, bringing its total to $173.8m. The family film could not be uprooted from the top spot despite a 26% decline after opening in an additional six territories. Sony's The Pursuit ...

Fox's Night At The Museum refuses to be beaten as it climbs back up to the top spot, generating over $14m in its eighth week despite being dropped from four territories. Oscar contender Blood Diamond did not trail far behind, raking in $13.1m in its sixth week as it opens ...

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